During the pandemic, many businesses decided to pivot their workforce to remote or hybrid work. In doing so, some companies implemented versions of a “Bring Your Own Device” (“BYOD”) program to allow employees to use personal devices to do their jobs. While there can be cost savings and employee flexibility benefits to such programs, they also come with inherent ...

During the pandemic, many businesses decided to pivot their workforce to remote or hybrid work. In doing so, some companies implemented versions of a “Bring Your Own Device” (“BYOD”) program ...

Effective since January 1, 2020, Washington’s statutory law governing noncompetition covenants (Chapter 49.62 RCW) has changed the legal landscape for employers, employees, and independent contractors in the state. This article highlights the key statutory provisions, and also briefly discusses the second component of the analysis: how courts determine whether enforcing the non-compete covenant is reasonable. Agreements Affected. The noncompetition covenant ...

Effective since January 1, 2020, Washington’s statutory law governing noncompetition covenants (Chapter 49.62 RCW) has changed the legal landscape for employers, employees, and independent contractors in the state. This article ...

The California Supreme Court handed down its much-anticipated decision in Kuciemba v. Victory Woodworks, Inc., holding that an employer cannot be liable for injury to an employee’s spouse when the employee transmits their workplace-acquired COVID infection to their spouse.  The Court’s decision, on public policy grounds, is a lifeline for California employers who faced substantial litigation risk and cost ...

The California Supreme Court handed down its much-anticipated decision in Kuciemba v. Victory Woodworks, Inc., holding that an employer cannot be liable for injury to an employee’s spouse when the ...

A decade after recreational use of cannabis was legalized in Washington, the state recently enacted new restrictions on employers’ ability to consider off-duty use of marijuana in hiring. On May 9, 2023, Governor Inslee signed Senate Bill 5123 into law, which bars most employers’ from making hiring decisions based on off-the-job cannabis use or most pre-employment cannabis testing.  Specifically, ...

A decade after recreational use of cannabis was legalized in Washington, the state recently enacted new restrictions on employers’ ability to consider off-duty use of marijuana in hiring. On May ...

In prior blog posts we examined Washington law on noncompete agreements: the current statutory scheme that curtails the use of noncompete agreements in certain contexts [here] and [here], and how Washington courts evaluate the reasonableness of a noncompete agreement to determine its enforceability [here]. A recently proposed rule by the Federal Trade Commission would upend this Washington law.[1] Under ...

In prior blog posts we examined Washington law on noncompete agreements: the current statutory scheme that curtails the use of noncompete agreements in certain contexts [here] and [here], and how ...

A significant statutory update regarding the resolution of employment-related claims, disputes and lawsuits, RCW 49.44.211, went into effect on June 9,  2022.  The new law amends the 2018 law prohibiting employment agreements from including non-disclosure provisions related to details or allegations of sexual harassment and assault. The amended statute now applies to settlement agreements and independent contractor agreements, in ...

A significant statutory update regarding the resolution of employment-related claims, disputes and lawsuits, RCW 49.44.211, went into effect on June 9,  2022.  The new law amends the 2018 law prohibiting ...

An update to our prior post "Baseball Tries An Old Saw: “Let’s not compete on wages….”:  On different grounds, there is a new challenge to Baseball’s antitrust exemption, brought by four of the minor league baseball clubs which lost their MLB affiliation in the recent shakeup of the minor leagues' organization.  See the complaint here.  Antitrust expertise has long ...

An update to our prior post "Baseball Tries An Old Saw: “Let’s not compete on wages….”:  On different grounds, there is a new challenge to Baseball’s antitrust exemption, brought by ...

Virtually all businesses, and not least the professional sports leagues, are looking to cut costs in the era of coronavirus.  Major League Baseball has decided to cut its 2020 draft of amateur players, usually either high school seniors or college juniors, from 40 rounds to 5.  See https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-agrees-to-reduce-2020-draft-to-five-rounds-with-unlimited-undrafted-signings-for-20k-reports-say/. Eliminating part or all of Baseball’s amateur draft is one thing, ...

Virtually all businesses, and not least the professional sports leagues, are looking to cut costs in the era of coronavirus.  Major League Baseball has decided to cut its 2020 draft ...